Chapter 498 - 497: A Martial Sage?

"For the fairness of the competition, there will be a one-hour rest period to allow both contestants to recover and fight in their best condition," the host declared.

"During this time, please enjoy a replay of the two contestants’ journeys throughout the tournament!"

He quickly left the ring, and soon the large screens lit up, showing highlight reels from the municipal tournaments, to the provincial stages, all the way to the national finals.

Normally, the audience would be excited, eager to relive the thrilling battles.

But today, hardly anyone paid attention to the footage.

Instead, the stadium buzzed with murmurs.

The results of the day had defied all expectations.

Qian Ming and Sun Zhengying, both widely considered the strongest contenders for the championship, had fallen in the semifinals.

Meanwhile, Tang Zichen—whose performances had seemed lackluster—had quietly advanced to the finals.

And Fenric, long dogged by accusations of "fixed matches," had just silenced the critics with an overwhelming, undeniable display of strength.

The so-called dark horses now stood at the summit, ready to clash for the crown.

It left the spectators shaken, doubting their own judgment.

All the ones they had expected to win were gone.

All the ones they had dismissed were now rising.

"Damn, I didn’t expect things to turn out like this!"

"Total upset! Definitely the biggest dark horse of the conference!"

"Hah, I wonder how those so-called experts—who swore the champion would be either Qian Ming or Sun Zhengying—are feeling right now. Their faces must be burning."

"Don’t the casinos always open betting pools during the martial arts conference? The results of today’s match must have cost people a fortune."

"Hahaha! I casually bet on the so-called ’fake match’ contestant making it to the finals. Didn’t expect him to actually get there. The odds were one to ten! I struck gold!"

"Brother, are you seriously still calling Fenric a fake?"

"Oh, come on. Did you not see? He shattered a weapon with a single finger strike. Someone like that is no fraud—his strength is terrifying!"

"Yeah... I admit it. I was fooled by the internet gossip. He’s no fake. His strength is the real deal!"

"You think Fenric could actually be at the level of a Great Grandmaster? Otherwise, how could he be so overwhelming?"

"I’m starting to wonder about his past records. Maybe we underestimated him too much."

"Forget it. Let’s just see if he can defeat Tang Zichen with one finger in the finals."

"I think Fairy Tang has been hiding her true strength!"

"Yes! Look at her previous matches—she never once initiated an attack, yet still managed to win every round with ease. It’s like she wasn’t even trying. Honestly, I suspect she’s using this competition just to refine her martial arts."

"Sh*t, brother, I was thinking the same thing. It’s like she’s honing herself through these battles, not fighting to win."

"By your logic... doesn’t that align with the Great Grandmaster’s philosophy of ’embracing all rivers’?"

"Wait, wait—are we saying there’s actually going to be a Great Grandmaster in this year’s martial arts conference?"

The venue buzzed with speculation, excitement, and disbelief.

For the first time, many spectators who had blindly dismissed Fenric began to seriously acknowledge his strength.

The same shift was happening online.

Netizens who once mocked him now rushed to defend him. Even a few so-called "after-the-fact sages" boldly declared, "I knew Fenric was a master from the start!"

Fenric himself, however, paid little attention to the opinions of the crowd.

At this moment, he was reclining comfortably on the lounge sofa, sipping the milk Xiao Linger had prepared for him.

Beside him, Xiao Linger scrolled through her phone, grinning from ear to ear.

Fenric could ignore the voices of the internet—he was merely a passerby in this world. But Xiao Linger couldn’t. She cared deeply.

Watching public opinion slowly shift in Fenric’s favor, her heart swelled with relief and pride. At the very least, the next time she appeared in public at his side, she wouldn’t have to avoid people’s stares.

"Fenric, you’re incredible," she said cheerfully, holding up her phone. "Look, all these martial arts experts are calling you an unfathomable master now!"

Fenric smiled faintly. "Don’t take what those so-called experts say too seriously. They’re just armchair analysts."

"Right!" Xiao Linger suddenly remembered something. On the plane a few days ago, Fenric had mentioned Tang Zichen’s strength. Her expression turned slightly tense.

"Fenric, your next opponent is Tang Zichen. I just called Grandpa. He said Tang Zichen is exceptionally strong—that she entered the conference not to win, but to temper her heart. She might actually be a true Great Grandmaster!"

By the end of her words, her voice carried genuine astonishment.

She trusted her grandfather’s judgment completely.

What made her uneasy was the fact that Tang Zichen was only in her early twenties—barely older than Xiao Linger herself—and yet, she had already reached the Great Grandmaster realm.

Such talent was terrifying.

"Fenric, your next match is against a Great Grandmaster. Are you really confident?"

Fenric set down his glass and nodded without hesitation. "Of course."

Xiao Linger frowned. To her, he sounded far too casual. "I’m being serious with you."

"I’m serious too."

"Ugh, forget it. I don’t care anymore. Just... be careful out there."

The one-hour intermission passed quickly.

Finally, the much-anticipated final arrived.

As Fenric and Tang Zichen stepped into the ring, the Bird’s Nest stadium erupted with thunderous applause.

This was the national final—the pinnacle of the competition—and the audience’s excitement was palpable.

What made the match even more enticing was that both finalists were considered underdogs. Nobody had expected them to reach this stage, which only added to the anticipation.

But the greatest source of excitement came from the speculation swirling around Tang Zichen.

Many respected martial arts experts had analyzed her matches during the break, and the consensus was shocking: Tang Zichen might truly be a Great Grandmaster.

A true Great Grandmaster—one of fewer than a hundred in the world—each one a living legend.

And now, one might be standing on this very stage.

The audience could hardly contain themselves.

They worried only that Tang Zichen might finish the match too easily if she chose to reveal her strength.

But those worries dissolved the moment Tang Zichen faced Fenric.

She spoke, her voice calm but resolute:

"Fenric, I know I’m not your match. But in this fight, I want you to use your real strength to defeat me. I’ll give it everything I have. I want to see... exactly how wide the gap between us truly is."

Her words stunned the entire arena.

What did this mean?

Was Tang Zichen admitting defeat in advance?

Or... was she acknowledging Fenric as something even beyond a Great Grandmaster?

The audience’s hearts trembled with a single thought:

Could Fenric be... a Martial Sage?

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(Translator’s Note: Regular updates will be 2–3 Chapters per day, but if you want me to continue uploading 5 Chapters daily, please leave some Power Stones. Reaching the Top 3 in the Power Stone rankings isn’t impossible, but for now, let’s aim for the Top 5. If we reach it, I’ll update 5 Chapters every day.)